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BULLETIN No. 6 



Consolidated Rural Schools 

and 

The Motor Truck 




ISSUED BY 
FIRESTONE SHIP BY TRUCK BUREAU 
)| FIRESTONE PARK 

AKRON, OHIO 



July 1920 



Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. 



'CI.A597054 



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' ' I ^HE improvement and consoli- 
JL dation of rural schools and the 
use of such schools as rural social 
centers have a marked influence upon 
the prosperity and intellectual devel- 
opment of the people who live in the 
country. The movement in this 
direction has only begun and its 
continued progress is dependent in a 
large measure upon the improvement 
of highways and highway transporta- 
tion. Better roads are essential to 
better rural schools." — P. P. Claxton, 
Commissioner, U. S. Bureau of 
Education. 



FOREWORD 

The publication of this bulletin is made possible in large 
measure through the hearty cooperation of the U. S. Bureau 
of Education, State Departments of Public Instruction, and 
of many county superintendents, principals, teachers and 
others who are interested in advancing rural community life 
and in placing at the disposal of the boy and girl of the village 
and country schools facilities equal to those enjoyed by the 
city boy and girl. Grateful acknowledgment is made to all 
who have thus cooperated. 

Especial thanks is due to the following : 

A. O. Neal, Specialist in Rural School Administra- 
tion, U. S. Bureau of Education. 
H. W. Foght, President, The Northern Normal and 

Industrial School, Aberdeen, South Dakota. 
C. G. Sargent, Colorado Agricultural College, Ft. 

Collins, Colorado. 
George S. Dick, State Inspector of Consolidated 

Schools, Des Moines, Iowa. 
C. C. Swain, Inspector of Rural Schools in Minnesota. 
Lee L. Driver, Director, Bureau of Rural Education, 

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 
J. C. Muerman, State Teachers College, Greeley, 

Colorado. 
O. H. Greist, County Superintendent of Schools, 

Winchester, Indiana. 
W. S. Fogarty, County Superintendent of Schools, 

Eaton, Ohio. 
R. P. Crawford, Associate Editor, Nebraska Farmer, 

Lincoln, Nebraska. 
George W. Comer, Trustee, White River Township, 

Winchester, Indiana. 
Mildred English, Principal of Consolidated School, 

Capleville, Tennessee. 
George W. Todd, Superintendent of Consolidated 

School, Center, Colorado. 
Floyd D. Welch, Principal of Madison Township 

Schools, Linden, Indiana. 
George R. Momyer, Superintendent of Consolidated 

School, Monte Vista, Colorado. 
W. C. Clarkson, District Superintendent of Schools, 

Charleston, West Virginia. 
George R. Young, Superintendent of Sargent School, 

Rio Grande County, Monte Vista, Colorado. 
H. L. Hartwell, Rollo, Illinois. 
Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, Iowa. 



CONSOLIDATED RURAL SCHOOLS 

AND 

THE MOTOR TRUCK 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Introduction 5 

The Rural District School of America. 6 
The One-Room School and its 

Defects 6 

Recent Tendency in Rural 

Education 8 

Consolidation of Rural Schools 8 

Definition 8 

History of Movement 9 

Consolidation of Rural Schools 

in 1920 9 

State Laws on Consolidation 9 

Different Units of School Ad- 
ministration 11 

Survey on Consolidation by 
States 12 



The Typical Consolidated School. 17 

Results of Consolidation 22 

Advantages of Consolidation 22 

Comparison of the Cost of a 
Consolidated School System 

with a One-Room System 25 

Transportation 27 

Some Transportation Essentials. 28 

Transportation Analyses 29 

Good Roads 33 

Cost of Transportation 36 

Advantages of Motor Trans- 
portation 47 

Conclusions and Summarization 48 

Bibliography 51 



INTRODUCTION 

The purpose of this bulletin is to give some authentic information on the 
consolidation of rural schools. Some 40 or 50 consolidated schools have been 
visited in 13 states which are among the leaders in consolidation. It is not the 
purpose of this bulletin to urge the consolidation of schools against the wishes 
of the people in any community nor to minimize the glorious work that the 
rural schools have accomplished; but it does aim to present the many advantages 
of the consolidated school, to tell what has been accomplished in improving 
rural school conditions, and to explain how some of the difficult problems 
attending the consolidation movement have been solved. 

The more purely academic questions in the present day trend of educational 
development, such as the vitalization of courses and the standardizing of 
educational measurements, will be left to others; while this bulletin will deal 
with questions of a more practical nature, such as the ways and means of 
consolidating the rural schools, and the methods and cost of transportation. 
This bulletin does not demand its acceptance as an authority on these subjects; 
but it is hoped that it may be the medium of presenting a number of interesting 
phases of consolidation. It is probably safe to say that the period of experi- 
mentation in school consolidation has passed. The present task is to devise 
ways and means whereby school consolidation shall come in its best form. It 
is reasonable to expect that sometime, not very far distant, a solution of all 
the various problems and difficulties will have been determined, so that the 
movement may more rapidly progress and thereby aid very appreciably in 
the bettering of rural conditions throughout the country. 

It is hoped that those who are interested in consolidation or in giving 
country boys and girls a better and more modern education, will find in this 
bulletin much of interest and helpfulness. 



THE RURAL DISTRICT SCHOOL OF AMERICA 

THE ONE-ROOM SCHOOL AND ITS DEFECTS 

The recent awakening in the study of rural life has given to the rural school 
a new task and a new responsibility. Undoubtedly the greatest educational 
problem now facing the American people is the rural school. About one-half 
of the American school children are enrolled in rural schools. Ninety per cent 
of them are getting no other education. These 12,000,000 children are laboring 
under distinct educational disadvantages, because the 212,000 one-room schools 
still remaining are of the pioneer type and cannot possibly meet the needs of 
modern agricultural life. 

The school year in some sections is much shorter than it used to be, enrollment 
is low and daily attendance is often irregular. In recent educational surveys it 
has been disclosed that in certain states the educational level must be measured 
by about 6K years of school attendance for the villages and less than five 
years for the rural district. How can the intelligent leadership needed so much 
today upon the American farms be supplied by this limited education? 

It is true that these one-room schools have improved considerably over the 
schools of 20 and 30 years ago; new subjects have been added to the curriculum 
and, due to state supervision and pressure, they have been forced to raise their 
standards. With the increased curriculum the country teacher is now expected 
to train his pupils thoroughly in the following subjects: reading, writing, 
arithmetic, drawing, spelling, history, geography, music, physiology, hygiene, 
civics, agriculture, grammar, language, domestic science, manual training and 
other industrial subjects. These must be taught in such a way as to fit the 
various ages and grades of pupils. It is very evident that it would take an 
unusual person to handle this outlay with any success. 

As one travels around the country today he is struck with the evidences of 
prosperity among the farmers. Large and beautiful homes have been built. 
Adequate barns and sheds have been constructed for the live stock and nothing 
is lacking in the way of comfort and convenience. The automobile and tractor 
have replaced the old time cart and plow. The only institution to remind one 
of the past is the little district schoolhouse with its ugly, weathered and inhospi- 
table appearance. When Garfield said, "A pine log with the student on one end 
and Dr. Hopkins on the other would be a liberal education," he uttered it to 
emphasize the importance of the teacher, but not to minimize the need of a 
proper house in which the teacher may do his work. The true basis of complaint 
is not that the rural school has not improved, but that it has not kept and is 
not keeping step with the onward progress of our civilization. It is a laggard 
in the race with the city school. While the cities have been, and are still, 
putting thousands of dollars into beautiful school buildings, equipped with 
every modern convenience, the country has thought itself well equipped if it 
had a structure of the "box car" type. Little or no thought has been given to 
the many things that go to make up a truly efficient school. A one-room 
school is not necessarily a poor school, nor is a country school by that one 
fact alone a poor school; but a small school is, and always has been, a poor 
school. President T. J. Coates of the State Normal School of Richmond, 
Kentucky, in speaking of the small school, said, "The average farmer and rural 
teacher think of the rural school as a little house, on a little ground, with a 
little equipment, where a little teacher, for a little while at a little salary, teaches 
little children, little things." 




The Ten-Mile Branch School, discontinued when 
itwas consolidated with the Capleville School 








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The Old Capleville School — two teachers 




The present Consolidated School at Capleville, Tenn 




One of the trucks which brings the 
students to school 



The Kelly School, discontinued when that schoo 
was consolidated with the Capleville School 



As a nation the United States has passed the time when the farm home 
produced whatever the family group needed in the way of food, clothing and 
tools. In those days the arts and manual industries were taught at home. 
Today the average home can no longer teach these subjects. The schools, 
therefore, must take over the new responsibility by offering courses in agri- 
culture, household economics, manual training and other vocational subjects. 

The gravest charge against the one-room school has been its failure to 
sustain the pupils' interest. This is due to the fact that it is unable to provide 
the kind of education demanded by the conditions of modern agriculture. 
Schools that answered well enough a pioneer civilization cannot be expected to 
do the same for a generation of commercial farmers. 



RECENT TENDENCY IN RURAL EDUCATION 

It is very generally conceded that the country school, because of its social 
nature must be the chief means and factor in making country life richer. This 
the farmer, throughout the country, is coming to realize. Good crops are not 
of much value to the farmer unless they can provide him with the proper kind of 
farm life. He is beginning to realize that the best way to obtain these desired 
ends is to provide his children with the kind of education that will make it 
possible for them to live in harmony with their environment. This is what 
the consolidated rural school is organized to do. 

In the next 10 or 15 years we shall witness the greatest change in rural schools 
that the country has ever known. The rural school children of today will be 
the farmers and farmers' wives of 10 years hence. They will be educated and 
fitted for their work. The state that falls down in this program of readjustment 
and fails to effect the most liberal policy possible will be outdistanced in the 
race. The progressive and enlightened community is going to be the consolidated 
community. 

CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS 

DEFINITION 

There are almost as many different definitions of the term, "Consolidation," 
as there are states, and educators within the same state sometimes disagree. 
In some states when but two schools are replaced by one, the term "Union 
School" is used, the. term "Consolidated" being reserved for the merging 
together of three or more schools. Some sections of the country use the term 
"Consolidation" only in speaking of a school to which children are transported 
at public expense. The Colorado law defines the term, "Consolidation," as 
providing for the abolishment of certain adjoining school districts and their 
organization into one special school district, and for the conveyance of pupils. 

There are some states that use the term, "Centralization," instead of 
"Consolidation." Ohio uses this term almost entirely, a centralized school 
being one located where it will be the most convenient for the children of a 
township. In Colorado the term, "Centralization" is used as well as "Consoli- 
dation." In this state the school districts are generally very large, some districts 
maintaining eight or ten one-room schools. If the schools within any one dis- 
trict should unite to form one school, a centralized school would result because 
the merger has taken place wholly within one district. 



Consolidation in its best form takes place when schools are not forced to 
close for lack of students but are deliberately abandoned for the purpose of 
creating a larger school where more efficient work may be done, or the same 
work at a diminished cost. 

HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT 

Massachusetts, the state that first developed the small district school, was 
the first to begin consolidation. In 1867 the legislature of Massachusetts 
passed the first law authorizing consolidation. In 1869 the law was amended 
to provide for transportation at public expense. 

The district of Montague, Massachusetts, was the first to organize under 
the act. In 1875 three district schools were abandoned and a new brick building 
erected at a central location, to which the pupils were transported at public 
expense. This school is still flourishing and serves an area of approximately 
20 square miles. A high-school department was added soon after the school 
originated. 

The second consolidated school in the United States was quite likely 
established in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1879. Following the Concord 
consolidated school came others in other townships, but progress was very 
slow. The movement spread from Massachusetts to other states until today 
there is not a state that cannot boast of several examples of consolidated 
schools. States that had the township unit of school administration, such as 
Indiana and Ohio, took to consolidation more rapidly. 

While Massachusetts led in the establishment of consolidated schools, as 
early as 1856 Caleb Mills, Superintendent of Public Instruction in Indiana, 
urged consolidation. He is sometimes accredited as father of the idea. Little 
was accomplished throughout the country, however, until the Committee of 
Twelve made its report to the National Educational Association in 1896, 
which report brought the question prominently before the people of the country. 
Since then many states have legalized consolidation and much progress has 
been made within the last ten years. 

In 1918 the United States Bureau of Education reported that there were 
10,500 consolidated schools in the country. Although there is no way of check- 
ing up accurately, since the movement is now spreading so rapidly, the proba- 
bility is that there are about 13,000 consolidated schools. There are still 
212,000 one-room schools, the majority of which resemble the old school of 
pioneer days; so it can be seen at a glance that the consolidation movement is 
just fairly under way. 

CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS IN 1920 

STATE LAWS ON CONSOLIDATION 

Substantial progress can be made only with the right kind of laws. There 
are practically as many kinds of laws on consolidation as there are states. 
The Holmberg Act of Minnesota and the Buford-Colley Act of Missouri are 
among the best laws on the subject. 

Most states require that consolidation can come only when the subject is 
presented to the qualified voters in the districts affected and they vote on it 
favorably. In the few states where the educational authorities can act without 
consulting the people, provision is nearly always made whereby the people 

9 



can force a return to the old order if they are not satisfied. Only a few states, 
as yet, allow the majority vote of the combined votes cast in all the districts 
to decide the issue. Too frequently one district can prevent a consolidation 
which all others concerned want. In most states rural schools may be abandoned 
by the authorities if the daily attendance falls below a certain number. The 
remaining students are usually transported to a neighboring school. 

In practically all the states pupils are to be transported to the consolidated 
or centralized school at public expense. In two or three states, as in South 
Dakota, a certain amount is paid each parent in accordance with the mileage 
pupils travel, and then each family furnishes its own transportation. Illinois, 
for a number of years, has had laws permitting consolidation, but just last 
year (1919) did she amend her law so that transportation could be furnished 
by the school board at the expense of the district. 

In very recent years state aid to consolidated schools has been growing in 
favor. Some feel that special aid to stimulate consolidation should be given. 
This seems to be advisable since it will relieve the burden that the local district 
must bear and tends to equalize the cost of education over the whole state. 
There is no reason why the state should not bear more of the expense of educa- 
tion, since it is the duty of the state to provide an education for its people. 
The poor sections of a state can in this way be helped. 

Several states not only give aid to help support the school from year to 
year, but pay part of the transportation costs. In Minnesota a consolidated 
school may draw as much as $4000.00 a year from the state for transportation 
alone. Wisconsin and other states give aid for the erecting and equipping of 
the consolidated school building. The policy of giving aid is of such recent 
origin that the full results claimed for it are still to be demonstrated. 

In view of the fact that so few state departments of education have 
formulated any policy for carrying on campaigns to encourage consolidation, 
it might be interesting to know of the recent school law of Nebraska. This 
law provides for redistricting the county for school purposes. The county 
superintendent and two school electors redistrict the county, arrange for 
hearings upon proposed districts, and submit the proposition to the school 
voters concerned. It takes a majority of the votes cast in every district to 
create the new district. 

In this way Nebraska is to be eventually mapped out into potential consoli- 
dated areas. This is going to hasten very greatly the consolidation movement. 
When the time comes to vote consolidation, with these consolidated areas 
already mapped out, much of the jealousy and trouble that so frequently 
accompanies a proposed plan to consolidate will be avoided. It will also do 
away entirely with some of the odds and ends that would be left out if the 
question is left to the initiative of the small districts. Too much cannot be 
said toward the adoption by each state of a policy, so organized or supported 
by law that the question of consolidating the rural schools in the entire state 
may be engineered through some centralized authority. To rely upon the 
initiative of each small district for the forming of consolidations means that 
the growth will be more or less sporadic and considerable harm may be done 
to certain communities. Evidences of this can already be seen. Too frequently 
too small an area is included in the consolidation and the mistake is sometimes 
impossible to rectify. 

10 



The following information, in the form of a set of questions and answers, 
sent out by the State Superintendent of Public Schools of Missouri, will give a 
clear and concise explanation of consolidation in Missouri: 

1. Question: How many consolidated districts in the state? 
Answer: There were 146 last year (1919). 

2. Question: How many maintain a high school? 

Answer: There were 128 high schools in consolidated districts last 
year (1919). 

3. Question: Does the state give financial aid to these schools? 

Answer: The state gives aid to these schools as follows: Provided 
the district maintains an approved high school, it will receive $25.00 
per square mile or faction thereof up to 32 square miles or a 
maximum of $800.00 for any one year. Provided further that a 
building aid will be granted of one-fourth the cost of the buildings 
and grounds with a maximum of two thousand dollars state aid. This 
is granted on condition that a five-acre tract of land is secured, a 
modern heating and ventilating system is installed in the building 
and that the building contains an auditorium for community 
meetings. 

4. Question: What is the minimum area required? 

Answer: There must be at least twelve square miles included within 
the consolidated district or an enumeration of 200 children of 
school age. 

5. Question: What is the first step necessary to secure a consolidated 
district? 

.Answer: At least 25 qualified voters of the community must sign a 
petition asking that a consolidated district be formed and present 
this petition to the County Superintendent of Schools. He will 
investigate the needs and determine the exact boundaries. He shall 
post ten notices in public places stating the time, place and purpose 
of the meeting. At least 15 days notice must be given. 

6. Question: How many votes are required to carry the proposition? 
Answer: A majority of the votes cast is necessary. 

7. Question: How is the new district controlled? 

Answer: The new district is governed by a board of six directors 
the same as a city or town district. 

8. Question: Is transportation of all pupils to a central building 
required? 

Answer: No. Transportation may be voted by a two-thirds majority 
of the votes cast, but this is at the option of the voters. 

9. Question: Can state aid be obtained when only one year of high 
school work is given? 

Answer: No. The law states that at least a third class high school, 
giving two years of approved work, must be maintained in order 
to receive state aid. 

10. Question: When may a consolidated district be formed? 

Answer: Any time when the people feel the need and the petition 
is presented to the County Superintendent of Schools. 

DIFFERENT UNITS OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION 

Throughout the country we find three distinct types of school organiza- 
tion — district, township and county. The district, which was the original 
pioneer organization, still prevails in many parts of the country, especially 

11 



in the middle western states. The township is the basis for school administration 
in New England, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and parts of Michigan, Iowa, 
and South Dakota. The county unit has prevailed from the first in the South 
and has more recently been extended north and westward. The district unit 
has largely outlived its usefulness and the prevailing tendency is toward the 
county unit, which, if judiciously organized, usually gives a large enough area 
to insure equable taxes and a greater equality of educational opportunity. 
However, if patrons of the schools are not allowed a certain amount of local 
responsibility, it will fail because of too much centralization. Today there 
are 19 states organized wholly or in part on the county basis for school 
administration, of which Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and New Mexico have the 
pure county type. 

Illinois is organized on the district basis, the district being usually in rural 
territory. The state has more than 10,000 one-teacher schools; these 10,000 
schools with 10,000 teachers are managed by 30,000 trustees. Consolidation 
under such conditions is difficult. 

The district organization for present day conditions fails to recognize that 
education is not solely a matter of local interest but a matter of county and 
state interest. People no longer remain as much as they formerly did in the 
district in which they were educated, or failed to be educated. Under it no 
uniform state- wide advancement is possible. The per capita cost in maintaining 
the district schools is too high in proportion to the results obtained. For these 
and other reasons there is very little that can be said in- favor of the district. 

SURVEY ON CONSOLIDATION BY STATES 

Most of the consolidated schools of Iowa are of an excellent type. The legal 
provision for state aid requires a large land area to be used for playgrounds 
and experimental purposes. This has from the first given the Iowa consolidated 
schools a decided agricultural bent. Many of the schools are township consoli- 
dated schools and have well organized four-year high-school departments. It 
took Iowa 17 years to obtain its first 17 consolidations, but only six years to 
secure the next 300. During the eight months preceding April, 1920, the 
number of consolidations was almost doubled. The following is a summary 
of school consolidation in the state up to April 8, 1920: 

380 Consolidated Schools were organized. 
50,000 Children have passed from the one-room school to a 

consolidated school. 
10,000 of the above number are in the high school. 
1,800 have graduated from the twelfth grade this year. 
2,500 one-room schools have been closed. 
11,000 one-room schools are left. 

16 Sections is minimum territory that can be consolidated. 

88 Sections is the largest consolidation to be found. 

Y(, of the territory of the state is now under consolidation. 



12 




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:,:].,] •J-.J M^. 



■ ■ ■ ■ ■-■■ 




Map of Iowa, showing the location of the 400 consolidated schools in Iowa in May, 1920 



Pennsylvania, on account of its difficult topography, has made somewhat 
slow progress in the consolidation of schools. However, some real progress is 
now being made: 

9,875 is the number of one-room schools in the state. 
1,320 is the number of two-room schools in the state. 
1,715 one-room schools having an average attendance of 12 or less. 

552 is the number of townships where complete consolidation 
would be feasible. 

715 Rural schools have been closed in last 10 years as a result 
of consolidation. 

684 of the above number were one-room schools. 

6,201 pupils are being transported to consolidated schools. 

326 vans or wagons are being used for transportation purposes. 

Minnesota is making rapid progress in organizing its rural schools to meet 
the need of present day agricultural life, consolidation being encouraged wherever 
possible. Some excellent legislation has made the reorganization reasonably 
easy of attainment, and liberal state aid has provided the stimulus to hasten 
the work. The Minnesota practice is to consolidate the schools in the open 
country or on the edge of the rural villages. By the Holmberg Act which pro- 
vides that 25 per cent of the resident freeholders may petition for consolidation, 
and that the election shall be held at one centrally located polling place, the 
result to be determined by a bare majority of all votes cast, consolidation has 
not been unduly hampered. In 1909 there were only nine consolidations in 
Minnesota, while today there are 302. 

Colorado, with an area of nearly 104,000 square miles and a population 
of 709,000 is one of the largest states in the Union. Due to its sparsity of 
population and difficult topography slow progress in consolidation has been 
made, although there are many locations where it is needed. However, 
rapid progress has been made recently. In 1917 there were only 20 

13 




Sargent School near Monte Vista, Colo. An open country consolidation. The automobiles are lined 

up in front of the school for the return home 

(Courtesy Nebraska Farmer) 



consolidated schools located in 11 counties in the state while today there are 114 
consolidations — to be more exact, 47 consolidations and 67 centralizations. 
Only 31 out of 63 counties have made any progress at all. 

In South Dakota, until the past two years, little progress has been made in 
consolidation. In 1917 there were only 32 consolidations, most of which were 
village consolidations, only three being in the open country. Today there are 
about 140 consolidations and the number is increasing rapidly. Many of the 
village or town schools have been taking in the country districts for the purpose 
of getting more taxes. This may or may not be advisable, depending upon how 
far the towns are willing to go to give the rural children the kind of education 
that they need. 




Consolidated School at Center, Colo. 
(Courtesy Nebraska Farmer) 

14 



In Nebraska there is little consolidation. In 1914 Nebraska had 35 con- 
solidated schools. They varied in size from two-teacher to five-teacher schools. 
In January, 1919, Nebraska had 61 consolidated schools and several more in 
the process of being formed. The law passed last year, providing for the 
redistricting of the state into potential consolidated districts, ought to do much 
in furthering the movement. 

Consolidation in Illinois is just getting under way. The school law of last 
year has cut the bands that have been holding the state back. Already some 
50 consolidations have followed the passage of the new law and will be "going 
concerns" by the opening of school next fall. So far Illinois has only 14 schools 
that can really be called consolidations, though there are a great many so-called 
consolidations. In addition to the legal obstacles that heretofore have hindered 
consolidation, the standardizing and improving of the many one-room schools 
in the state have somewhat removed the incentive to consolidate. Consolida- 
tion in Illinois seems to be coming from the top rather than from the bottom. 
The popular growth in educational reorganizations has been the creation of a 
great many township and community high schools of which there are already 
several hundred. These schools will undoubtedly serve as the nuclei around 
which the consolidation of the elementary rural schools will be formed. 

In Kentucky consolidation of schools is comparatively new. A few pro- 
gressive centers, such as Mays Lick in Mason County, have made a beginning 
in an experimental way. Thus far Kentucky has only 80 consolidated schools. 

While North Dakota has not been able to spend money quite as lavishly 
as many other states, nevertheless it has some unusually fine schools. North 
Dakota accepts as a consolidation any school that serves 18 contiguous sections 
and employs two or more teachers, regardless of whether there has been any 
actual joining of territories. The state now claims 526 consolidated schools, 
189 of which are in the open country. According to the standards of some 
states, many of these schools would not be called consolidations. These schools 
now have a total enrollment of about 35,000, 3,000 of whom are doing high- 




Lanier Township School in the open country, Preble County, Ohio 
15 



school work. Probably not more than 300 of the above high-school students 
would be having any training above the elementary grades if it were not for 
consolidation. 

Ohio, in 1892, was the first state west of the Alleghenies to permit the union 
of two or more districts to form a consolidated school, its first school being 
Kingsville Township School in Ashtabula County. From this beginning, 
centralization and consolidation have spread over the state until today there 
are 909 such schools located in 69 different counties. There still remain 5,880 
one-room schools in the state. 

West Virginia has established 171 consolidated schools, 20 being organized 
in 1918 and about 50 in 1919. Approximately 500 one-room schools have 
been abandoned with 5,000 still remaining. Most of West Virginia's consoli- 
dations are small and involve only the abandonment of one, two and three- 
room district schools. The mountainous character of this state makes it diffi- 
cult to consolidate the rural schools. Most of the consolidations extend up 
some narrow valley or along a river, giving to the area considerable length, 
but scarcely any breadth. With the coming of paved roads up these valleys, 
consolidation ought to make great strides. 

In 1913 the legislature of Tennessee gave the county board of education 
full power and authority to consolidate two or more schools and to furnish 
transportation to pupils who live too far to walk to school. This has made 
consolidation grow rapidly. At the time of passage of this law there were 
about 150 consolidated schools in the state, but the number has grown con- 
siderably since then. Shelby County with 21 consolidated white schools and 
9 consolidated negro schools has gone the farthest of any county in the move- 
ment. The area of this county is 743 square miles. It has 1050 miles of piked 
roads and 685 miles of graded roads. These road conditions have favored 
rapid consolidation. Consolidation in the white schools is just about completed, 
there being 14 non-consolidated schools left, most of which are kept up for the 
lower grades within the consolidated areas. Transportation to the extent of 
43 horse hacks and 20 auto busses is furnished the white schools of the county. 
The average size of consolidations in Tennessee is 14 square miles. 

Although Missouri has excellent laws permitting consolidation, very 
little has been accomplished. In 1914 there were only 29 consolidated 
schools. The prevalence of the many clay roads and the existence of the old 
district unit system in the state seem to explain why so little has been done. 
There are probably 150 consolidated schools in the state today, 130 of which 
maintain high schools — while there still remain some 9,000 one-room schools. 

In 1896 Kansas established its first consolidation. In 1914 there were 75 
consolidated schools and today there are approximately 140, although many 
are consolidations more in name than in fact. 

Wisconsin has agitated consolidation during the past few years and several 
consolidations have resulted. There are over 6,000 one-room schools in the 
state and many of them would be greatly benefited by consolidation. Wisconsin 
now gives aid for erecting and equipping the consolidated school building, and 
also annual aid for transportation. With these inducements, consolidation 
ought to progress throughout the state very rapidly. 

16 



The Hoosier state, with more consolidations than any other, has made an 
enviable record. A 30 years' campaign for the consolidation of rural schools 
in Indiana by state educational leaders has resulted in reducing the number of 
one-room schools in the state from 8,853 in 1890 to 4,880 in 1920. The total 
number of one-room schools abandoned in favor of consolidated schools is 
3,973. In 1912 there were in the state 589 consolidated schools. Today Indiana 
has 1,002 such schools and is said to be 45 per cent consolidated. There are 
about eight counties that are over 90 per cent consolidated. Randolph County, 
leading them all with 97.7 per cent, lias only three one-room schools remaining 
out of an original number of 131. 

Throughout the country there seems to be a general tendency toward 
consolidation. In this connection the report of the United States Commissioner 
of Education for the year ended June 30, 1919, is interesting: "There was a 
steady extension during the year of the consolidation of one and two-teacher 
schools. In spite of the additional cost of buildings and equipment many 
states strengthened the existing laws for consolidation in various wa3 r s. The 
trend is toward substantial encouragement, generally in the form of state aid. 
Georgia, for example, passed a law giving $500.00 to $1,000.00 from state funds 
to each consolidated school, according to the number of teachers employed. 
Pennsylvania pays half the cost of transportation from state funds; Washington 
increased the state apportionment to consolidated schools employing a superin- 
tendent or principal. Some states passed laws legalizing the expense of trans- 
portation. Oklahoma gives to consolidated districts an amount equal to 
one-half the cost of a three or more room building up to $2,500.00. 

THE TYPICAL CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL 

The aim of the typical consolidated school is to meet the educational, 
social and economic needs of the community in which it is located. It is dis- 
tinctly rural in atmosphere and is often to be found situated several miles 
from any town or village. It has a larger enrollment than the old one-room 
school, and serves a much larger territory, the average ranging from 30 to 
50 square miles. Pupils are transported regularly at public expense by a 
rapid and safe method. 





Open Country Consolidation at East Chain, Minnesota, with janitor's and teacher's homes 

17 




Consolidated School, Jesup, Iowa 

The building of this typical school is a large, substantial structure of stone 
or brick, planned not only for utilitarian purposes, but also for architectural 
beauty. It is usually to be found near the center of a four or five acre school 
site, surrounded by cement walks, shrubbery and well-kept lawns. To the 
rear of the building are to be found all sorts of recreational and playground 
equipment. And, in a great many cases, the school has set aside an acre or 
two as a working laboratory for experimentation in agriculture. It has every 
convenience that can be found in city schools. A pressure-tank or some other 
equaUy effective system provides flowing water in abundance, making it prac- 
ticable to have indoor toilets, drinking fountains, baths, etc. The school has 
the latest and best heating system that can be procured, and is well lighted with 
gas or electricity. The consolidated school building is invariably the pride 
and inspiration of the entire community. The people become identified to such 
an extent with the school and its interests that not infrequently, when speaking 
to outsiders, do they make mention of it and show the great part that it is 
playing in their community life. 




Consolidated School at Hammond, Louisiana 

18 




Consolidated School at Alta, Iowa 




The auditorium and gymnasium of the Alta School, Iowa, which is the social center of 

this community 




The manual training room in the Alta Consolidated School 

19 



The typical school is ordinarily in charge of about 10 or 15 professionally- 
trained teachers and offers not only a well-organized course of work for the 
elementary grades, but usually has a four-year high-school course. The better 
and more influential school is the school offering a complete high-school course 
of study. The equipment of this school for teaching physics, chemistry, agri- 
culture, domestic science, and manual training is complete. 

The course of study is planned to meet the educational needs of the children 
of the community. The course of study for the high school, which is offered 
at the Sargent Consolidated School in Colorado, is representative of many of 
the consolidated schools in the country: 

First Year 
Required — 

Algebra 2 credits 

English 2 credits 

Food Study and Cooking 1 credit 

Garment Making 1 credit 

Farm Carpentry 2 credits 

Elective — 

Agriculture (Soils and Crops) 2 credits 

Ancient History 2 credits 

Latin 2 credits 

French 2 credits 

Second Year 
Required — 

English 2 credits 

Food Study and Cooking (Planning and serving meals). -2 credits 

Textiles and Elementary Dressmaking 2 credits 

Forge Work and Engines 2 credits 

Agriculture (Animal Husbandry) 2 credits 

Elective — 

Geometry 2 credits 

Medieval and Modern History 2 credits 

Latin 2 credits 

French 2 credits 

Third Year 
Required — 

English 2 credits 

Agriculture (Farm Mechanics) 2 credits 

Agricultural Physics and Chemistry 2 credits 

Sanitation, Hygiene and Home-Nursing 1 credit 

Elective — 

Algebra 2 credits 

Geometry 2 credits 

Latin 2 credits 

French . 2 credits 

Fourth Year 
Required — 

English 2 credits 

U. S. History and Civics 2 credits 

Textiles, Millinery and Dressmaking 1 credit 

Agriculture (Farm Management and Rural Economics) 2 credits 

Home Management and Household Accounts 1 credit 

Elective — 

Latin 2 credits 

French 2 credits 

Any preceding elective. 

(Students who complete this course may enter any of the higher 

institutions of learning in the State of Colorado.) 

20 




The Sargent Consolidated School in Rio Grande County, Colo., showing the transportation busses 
and the homes of the superintendent and teachers 



The consolidated school building is constructed for a broader purpose than 
merely a school building. It contains a large auditorium that will accommodate 
any average gathering of the people and becomes the center of community 
interests and life. It brings about a closer relation between patrons, children 
and the school, and this alone is well worth the extra cost of an auditorium. 
Around the school are centered many activities such as the lyceum course, the 
farm grange, the farmers' institute and community entertainments. Athletic 
and physical activities also have their place. These and similar activities center 
about the typical consolidated school and thus make it indispensable in the 
new agricultural life of today. 




Auditorium in Consolidated School at Center, Colo. 
(Courtesy The Nebraska Farmer) 

21 



RESULTS OF CONSOLIDATION 
ADVANTAGES OF CONSOLIDATION 

The consolidated school has demonstrated that it has advantages and offers 
educational opportunities that the one-teacher school does not offer. Some 
of the chief advantages are: 

1. The consolidated school is a large enough school to warrant the 
services of a competent superintendent. 

2. Invariably the transportation of pupils to the consolidated school 
has resulted in a larger and more regular attendance and has 
eliminated tardiness. 

3. Children are no longer compelled to wear wet shoes all day after 
walking through rain and mud. Thus, health is conserved. 

4. A higher appreciation of school work in advance of the eighth 
grade is produced. More go to high school. In Randolph County* 
Indiana, where there are now only three of the original 131 one-room 
schools left, a total of 1,215 students have graduated from the 
eighth grade during the last five years and 1,179 of this number have 
entered high school, showing a record of 97 per cent. Before con- 
solidation there were only 61 students in high school from all the 
one-room schools in the county; after consolidation there are 742 
and the rural population today is practically what it was formerly. 

5. Pupils can be better grouped into classes on the basis of advancement. 

6. The student's time can now be divided much more effectively 
between study and recitation. 

7. There can be a greater vitalization of the school work by more 
courses, such as music, manual training, domestic science, agricul- 
ture, drawing, and sanitation. 

8. The contact with a larger number of children broadens the child's 
vision and gives a more enlightened view-point. It also has the 
same influence on the whole community since the consolidated 
school stimulates community meetings and a better cooperative 
spirit. 

9. Teachers of a higher calibre are attracted to the consolidated school 
and the teaching force is much more stable. 

10. The larger number of acres and people gives a more satisfactory 
taxing basis. 

11. The consolidated school offers a greater equality of educational 
opportunity. Under the old one-room system the children of the 
poorer district did not get as good an education as those of the more 
wealthy districts. 

12. The consolidated school makes possible better school rooms, better 
light, heat, ventilation and sanitation. 

13. The morals of the pupils are protected in going to and from school 
since they are in the care of a trustworthy driver. 

14. The consolidated school provides amusement and entertainment in 
community games and sports, moving pictures, musical festivals, 
school exhibits, picnics and parties. All this gives a variety and 
charm to country life that is too frequently lacking. 

15. Consolidation develops a broad functioning. Young people learn 
to have more confidence in themselves and seek a greater participa- 
tion in the activities of the community. 

16. Consolidation develops in the community powers of leadership. 
The directing force is a superintendent who should be a man of 
experience and mature judgment with an appreciation of the ways 
and opportunities of country life. He will organize the community 
for cultural growth and material progress. 

22 




The open country makes this one-story structure possible. Located at Okabena, Minn. 



17. The course of study is particularly adapted to the child's environ- 
ment. Since the majority of the boys and girls who attend remain on 
the farm, the instruction of the school emphasizes the kind of educa- 
tion that will prepare them for the life they are to live. 

18. The consolidated school gives to the country child all the advantages 
of a city school without sacrificing the advantages of rural life. 

19. The consolidated school operates in such a way that it sustains the 
interest of the pupils, especially the boys. 

20. Last but not least, the consolidated school goes a long way in meeting 
the one big cause of the boy deserting the farm — the desire and 
want for association. 

The County Superintendent of Schools of Butler County, Iowa, recently 
made a survey of 56 consolidated school districts in Iowa. Of the farmers 
who were asked if they would change back to the old way, 160 replied "Yes;" 
while 1166 were not willing to return, showing that about 90 per cent of the 
farmers are entirely satisfied. 




Playground equipment built by high school students 

23 



The following facts furnished by the County Superintendent of Preble 
County, Ohio, show what consolidation has done for that county: 

Before Since 

County Consolidation Consolidation Increase 

1914 1917 

School property $374,925.00 $601,120.00 60% 

Volumes in school libraries- __ 14,881 20,836 40% 

Enumeration of school youth. 5,135 5,076 less 

Total enrollment 4,374 4,508 3% 

Total enrollment in high schools 523 (1920) 812 55% 

School buildings used 108 52 less 

One-room schools in use 92 (1920)23 less 

Consolidated schools with high 

school 1 (1920) 13 1200% 

Wagons carrying children 10 91 810% 

Teachers graduates of college 

or normal 16 63 300% 

High-school graduates 112 122 9% 

Eighth-grade graduates 168 285 70% 

Pupils in domestic science work 121 392 224% 

Manual training 61 ' 155 154% 

Value of exhibits at county fair $25.00 $800.00 3100% 

Educational hall provided no yes 

People present at annual 

county play day none 3,000 

Entries at annual county play 

day none 1,494 

Different pupils entered county 

play day none 524 

Teachers 

Teachers who are college grad- 
uates 13 28 

Teachers who are normal grad- 
uates 3 35 

Graduates of first-grade high 

school 98 124 

One-year certificates 89 52 

Three-year certificates 16 56 

Subdistrict 
No. 10 Washington Monroe 
Cost Township Township 
(Not Consolidated) (Consolidated) 
Average annual cost per pupil 
for tuition and transpor- 
tation $50.90 $37.62 

Before After 

Consolidation Consolidation 

Average daily attendance 81% 92% 

(In Somers Township) 
Number attending community meetings in County: 

September, (1919) 1521 Receipts $ 90.00 

October, (1919) 4549 603.00 

November, (1919) 8286 721.00 

December, (1919) 9093 771.00 

January, (1920) 4514 298.00 

February, (1920) 5655 617.00 

The County Superintendent of Randolph County, Indiana, offers the 
following data on consolidation: 

Before After 

Consolidation Consolidation 
1919-1920 

Number of one-room schools 131 3 

Number of first-grade township high schools 1 16 

Number of township pupils in high schools 61 742 

Number of grade teachers 154 86 

Number of high school and special teachers 3 62 
Per cent of eighth-grade graduates in high 

school 21-50 97 

24 



Eighth-grade graduates — '15 240, Entered high school 230 

'16 242, Entered high school . . .231 

'17 253, Entered high school 243 

'18 _232, Entered high school ... .227 
'19. . .248, Entered high school 248 

Total.. .1215 ~ 1179 

Number of pupils transported in 1918-19 3126 

Number of horse-drawn hacks 102 

Number of motor busses 28 

No expression of the benefits from consolidation is worth as much as that 
which comes directly from taxpayers who have had experience with consoli- 
dation. Mr. A. Newton of the East Chain Consolidated School District in 
Martin County, Minnesota, states : • 

"Consolidation, good roads and local improvements are not for 
speculators and non-resident land owners, as their chief interest is 
high rent and low taxes and letting the community get along as best it 
can. But for local land-owners and renters who have boys and girls 
to educate, consolidation is the coming thing. 

"Transportation is one of the big problems in a consolidated 
school, and the school will not be successful unless it has successful 
transportation. I live 2% miles from the East Chain School and 
J4 mile from the road. The statements about the inconvenience 
and long waits in the snow are a joke, because how about wading two 
or three miles to a one-room school and a cold one at that. 

"We can see the bus coming and the telephone also keeps the 
patrons informed when it will arrive. In our system the farthest 
anyone has to walk is % mile, and an adjustment is now under 
consideration so the bus will pass his house. 

"My boys would have stayed home half the winter had I sent 
them to a one-room school and what would they have gotten out of 
it in a school where a teacher has to be a jack-of-all-trades and 
teach eight grades besides? 

"Transportation has proved successful and can be made more 
successful. As our roads get better from year to year, our transpor- 
tation will reach a higher degree of perfection. 

"I came to East Chain because they were talking consolidated 
schools and I voted for the consolidated school because I have three 
boys and a girl. Above everything else, my ambition is to give them 
a good education. Taxes may be somewhat lower in other town- 
ships, but I wouldn't trade my quarter section for the best one in 
Martin County if I had to go back to the one-room school, and I 
think this expresses the sentiment of the majority in East Chain 
Township. 

"We think just as much of our boys and girls in East Chain as 
you do in town and why shouldn't we tax ourselves to keep them at 
home and give them the same opportunities here as you folks do in 
town. If we do not, the better class will move to town to give their 
children these opportunities and the indifferent, careless class will 
be left in the country. Our cities and towns are over-populated now. 
We must offer more opportunities on the farm to keep the boys and 
girls on the farm. If we can afford six-cylinder automobiles, we 
can also afford the better kind of schools." 

COMPARISON OF THE COST OF A CONSOLIDATED 
SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH A ONE-ROOM SYSTEM 

Will a consolidated school system cost more than a one-room system? 
In actual expenditure of dollars and cents, yes. Under ordinary conditions a 
rural district must pay a higher tax to support a good consolidated school 
than it does to support a one-room district school. If the consolidated school 
were merely to displace the nine or ten small one-room schools in a certain 
area and give the identical instruction — nothing better nor broader — there 
is no question but that it would be cheaper, but it would be a failure if it did 
not present a better and fuller life to its pupils. 

25 



The consolidated school calls for an expenditure of more money, but the 
money buys better things; it calls for enlarged courses of study, longer terms, 
better equipment and buildings, trained teachers at higher salaries, a high- 
school course in addition to the elementary work, transportation, a competent 
principal as a community leader, larger school grounds for play and experi- 
mentation in agriculture, and numerous community projects centered about 
the school. Who would attempt to place a monetary value upon all these 
things and their worth to the community? It is practically incalculable. 

In comparing the cost of a consolidated school system with a one-room 
system, total cost should not be the sole consideration. Per capita cost is a 
more accurate method of comparison. In Preble County, Ohio, the Monroe 
Township School, which is consolidated, might be compared with the nearest 
one-room school. In Monroe Township the average annual cost, according 
to the county superintendent's figures, for both tuition and transportation for 
each child in the elementary school was $37.62 in 1919. In the one-room school, 
which is in Washington Township, where the enrollment was 11, the average 
annual cost per pupil for tuition was $50.90. 

Another fact to be kept in mind is that attendance of children in the con- 
solidated school is much better and more regular. In Somers Township, Preble 
County, Ohio, the average daily attendance was 81 per cent for the last year 
under the one-room system; the next year under the consolidated system the 
attendance was 92 per cent. This means that the total amount of schooling 
was increased many hundred child days. There is no reduction in the cost 
of operating the school when some of the children are absent. 

The consolidated schools are maintained approximately 20 to 40 days longer 
during the year than the one-room school, and another fact to be considered 
is that boys and girls remain in school longer. In most of our consolidated 
schools the high-school enrollment has more than doubled. In Preble County, 
Ohio, in the last four years 80 pupils have graduated from the eighth grade of 
the Washington Subdistrict No. 10, a non-consolidated school. Only 33 of 
them entered high school, the remaining 47 terminating their education at 
that point. In a nearby consolidated district, of 60 pupils who graduated 
from the eighth grade school in the past four years, 55 entered high school, 
or 91 per cent as compared with 41 per cent in the Washington district. 

One must take into consideration also the increased value of a consolidated 
school over a one-room school to the community in the service that it renders 
by the stimulation of greater interest in community projects and enterprises 
and by teaching better agricultural methods which will indirectly result in 
the raising of better crops, and earning of more money by the farmers. 

It is a known fact, also, that farm land values rise immediately after con- 
solidation. In Iowa recently 385 farmers who live in a consolidated school 
district were asked what effect consolidation had had on the value of their 
land. Of this number 280 reported that it had brought about an increase, 
99 reported that it had had no effect, and six reported a decrease. In the 
Sargent Consolidated School district in Colorado many farmers have estimated 
that consolidation has added $25.00 per acre to their land. 

If it were possible to place a monetary value upon all these elements of 
greater worth, the cost of schooling per pupil per day in actual attendance in 
the consolidated school would be much less than the cost per pupil per day of 
actual attendance in the former district school. This is the scientific way of com- 

26 



puting the cost of education and the true measure of accomplishment. When 
it is asserted that the consolidated school costs no more, or costs less, than 
the one-room school, one must bear in mind all the advantages that consolidation 
brings. 

Money that is spent for education is an investment in the lives of boys and 
girls. More money is being invested by farmers in the sowing of grain so 
that bigger harvests may be reaped, and more money is being spent for the 
better housing, feeding and breeding of stock that larger returns may be 
obtained. Is there, therefore, any good cause why they should not put more 
money into better schools for their children, so that greater returns may be 
attained in greater efficiency and happiness? The real cost of these better 
schools can only be measured by the real results obtained. 

TRANSPORTATION 

In at least 44 states today authority is given to school officers by the state 
legislature to expend public funds for the transportation of children to schools, 
provided the children five beyond a reasonable walking distance. It is necessary, 
of course, to have such authorization before the larger consolidated districts 
can be established. A consolidated area of 9 or 12 square miles would hardly 
need public transportation, but consolidations so small do not usually provide 
an adequate taxing unit. It is impossible to say just how large a consolidation 
should be, since there are so many different factors that would enter into the 
determination, such as population, land values, kind of transportation to be 
used (motor or horse), condition of roads, topography of the country, and 
standard of school desired. Of the above factors, the kind of conveyance to 
be employed to transport the children is one of the most important. 

If auto transportation is feasible throughout the year, the district may be 
very much larger than if it had to depend upon the team haul. In the latter 
case a district of 20 to 30 square miles has been found to be the most desirable. 
To exceed 30 square miles usually produces some rather difficult problems for 
horse transportation. Moreover, very little can be said in favor of the small 
consolidated district with a low taxable valuation and less than 100 children 
of school age. It is universally unsatisfactory. There are today a great many 
consolidations of this class that realize the mistake that was made and are having 
a pretty hard pull to get along. Where it is possible to expand, many of these 
small districts are doing so. It is absolutely necessary to have children enough 
and a large enough valuation of property to support the kind of school desired, 
without excessive tax. Under favorable conditions, therefore, it is advisable 
to establish consolidations as large as possible. The people of each locality 
must determine for themselves what size of consolidation will be the most 
economic. There is a real danger in making the consolidation too small because 
it generally defeats a more effective consolidation later on. 

Because the consolidated school to which children are transported in public 
conveyances cannot be satisfactory unless transportation itself is satisfactory, 
this factor is of great importance. Transportation must be safe, rapid, com- 
fortable and in charge of competent drivers of high character. If it has these 
qualities there will be very little trouble resulting from it. In schools where 
transportation has not given satisfaction the difficulty can often be traced 
either to the driver or the form of conveyance, and in either case the trouble 
can usually be remedied quite easily. Transportation has been universally 
satisfactory wherever it has been properly handled. 

27 



SOME TRANSPORTATION ESSENTIALS 

Too much care cannot be taken in working out the details of transportation. 
Every superintendent of a consolidated school should be willing to study this 
question thoroughly and give it a good portion of his time and attention. The 
superintendent of one of the most successful examples of consolidation devotes 
about half of his time studying and supervising transportation. Too many 
superintendents are prone to allow the system to run itself after it is once started. 
If the superintendent interests himself in it, it will not be long before the chil- 
dren and parents are doing likewise. Why is it that in some places the farmers 
get out early in the morning to break through the snowdrifts so that the school 
bus can run on schedule time, while in other sections the farmers expect the 
school authorities to run the whole system and complain if it isn't perfect? 
It is entirely a matter of creating the right kind of a community spirit. 

Bus routes should be so planned as to give the greatest service to the largest 
number without working a hardship to anyone. Rigid rules should be made 
to guard against any tendency toward laxity on the part of the drivers or 
children. 

Great care must be taken in the selection of drivers who should be com- 
petent, trustworthy, and able to command the respect of the children. In 
many places boys are not allowed to drive, although if selected carefully, thej' 
are usually satisfactory. Frequently it is hard to get drivers at a fair price. 
To be able to select competent boy drivers would solve the difficulty. The 
superintendent must be sure that the boy is dependable before he is allowed to 
take a route. Any driver that is found to be unreliable should be immediately 
dismissed. 

School boards should never lose control over drivers and routes. They 
should delegate to the superintendent of the school full authority to supervise 
and direct the transportation. Drivers should make a detailed report daily 
on a suitable card so that the superintendent may know at all times what 
is happening. 

A few states, such as Minnesota, have wisely legislated some of the essential 
rules into the consolidation laws. The busses should follow a definite route 
and run on schedule, leaving fixed points at set times. They should travel 
along the public roads and not drive up to the farm houses. Two long trips 
per bus are not desirable, as a rule, even with the motor bus, since it brings 
so many to school too early. Some school districts have met this condition 
by routing the district so that each motor bus daily covers a long and a short 
route. 

The plan of allowing parents or guardians to provide transportation for 
their children should not be advocated under any circumstances. Although 
it is not so much of a drain on the school funds, the total expended by the 
school patrons is much greater. If children drive their own rigs, the horses 
are not available for other work. Neither does this plan assure the regular 
attendance that is prevalent in the schools where public transportation is 
supplied. Parents should not lose sight of the great moral advantage that 
there is to public transportation, where their children are always in the care of 
a responsible driver. Transportation is as much a part of the school system as 
any other phase. Therefore, it should be in complete control of the school 
authorities at all times. 

28 



TRANSPORTATION ANALYSES 

The following tables show how transportation is handled in some typical 

districts : 

Jackson Township Central School 
Preble County, Ohio 



Kind of 


Wage 


Pupils 


Length 


Average 


Charac 


Time first 


Conveyance 


per 


hauled 


time to 


ter of 


child gets 




day 


per route 


route 


drive 


roads 


into bus 


Auto Bus 


$12.00 


^30 

?25 


9.5 mi. 


38 min. 


fair 


7:00 A. M 






2.5 mi. 


25 min. 


good 


7:55 A. M 


Auto Bus 


. 12.00 


$28 


10.7 mi. 


40 min. 


fair 


6:55 A.M 






(30 


8.2 mi. 


35 min. 


fair 


7:50 A. M 


Auto Bus 


. 11.00 


39 


9.2 mi. 


50 min. 


good 


7:38 A.M 


Auto Bus 


_ 12.00 


30 


15.9 mi. 


50 min. 


fair 


7:00 A.M 


Wagon . _ 


_ 7.00 


28 


9 mi. 


75 min. 


poor 


7:00 A.M 



(The auto busses are owned by the drivers who meet all operating 
expenses. Wagon but not horses owned by township.) 



Jackson Tr, Preble Co. Ohio 




ABandoncd Schools — 'Bus Routt 



Showing routes covered by busses 

29 



Jackson Township Consolidated School 
Randolph County, Indiana 

Wage to Length Time it takes 

Kind of Conveyance drivers of to drive 

per day route route 

1. Horse Hack $3.20 4 J^ miles 6:15—8:00 

2. Horse Hack 3.00 

3. Horse Hack 3.00 

4. Horse Hack 3.00 

5. Horse Hack 3.00 Routes 6:00 is the 

6. Horse Hack 3.00 average average time 

7. Horse Hack 3.00 5 ^ miles of the first 

8. Horse Hack 3.00 stop 

9. Horse Hack 3.00 

10. Horse Hack 3.00 

11. Horse Hack 3.00 

12. Horse Hack 3.00 7 miles 6:— 8:00 

(Drivers are all farmers, who furnish the teams — the school owns 
the hacks. The average number of children per hack is 20 — 25. 
School opens at 8:30.) 



Losantville, Randolph County, Indiana 



Kind of Driver's 

Conveyance Wage per 
day 

1. Horse Hack $3.00 

Horse Hack 3.00 

3. Horse Hack 3.00 

4. Horse Hack 2.00 

5. Auto Bus 7.00 



Length 

of 
route 

53^ miles 
6 miles 
6 miles 
5J^ miles 
miles 
5 miles 



Children 

per 

route 

20 
18 
22 
11 
16 
5 



Time to 
drive 
route 



6:30—8:15 
6:40—8:00 
6:30—8:10 
6:30—8:00 
7:05—7:45 
7:50—8:15 



(School opens at 8:30. The janitor owns and operates the auto bus. 
The hacks but not horses are owned by the school.) 



McKinley School 
White River Township, Randolph County, Ind. 



Kind of 
Conveyance 



Auto Bus, 



Auto Bus, 



Auto Bus. 



Auto Bus. 



Auto Bus. 



per day 



$3.00 



3.00 



3.00 



3.00 



3.00 



Length 


Children 




Time 


of route 






/ll miles 


27 


7:00—7:45 


\ 8 miles 


31 


8 


10—8:35 


/ll miles 


28 


7 


00—7:45 


\ 9 miles 


31 


8 


00—8:35 


/ll miles 


27 


7 


00—7:45 


\ 7J^ miles 


27 


8 


00—8:30 


/10 miles 


25 


7 


00—7:50 


\ 6 miles 


29 


8 


15—8:30 


/12 miles 


25 


7 


05—8:00 


\ 6 miles 


18 


8 


15—8:30 


6J^ miles 


6 


8 


00—8:22 


3J-£ miles 


6 


8 


00—8:20 


3J^ miles 


8 


8 


10—8:25 


5 miles 


5 







Ordinary Auto 2.50 

Ordinary Auto 2.50 

Ordinary Auto 2.00 

Private Rig 1 .50 

(School opens at 8:45. The auto busses are owned and operated by 
the school.) 

30 



Wayne Township School 

Randolph County, Indiana 

(March 24, 1920) 



Route 



Children 



Til 





21 


6:30—8 


20 




22 


7:10—8 


40 




23 


6:30—8 


20 


Routes 


22 


6:40—8 


or, 


average 


14 


6:30—8 


10 


5^ miles 


18 


7:00—8 


oo 




6 


7:00—8 


05 




15 


7:00—8 


00 




15 


6:30—8 


25 




9 


7:00—8 


00 




15 


6:45—8 


00 



Kind of Conveyance Wage 

1. Horse Hack 

2. Horse Hack 

3. Horse Hack 

4. Horse Hack Drivers 

5. Horse Hack get 

6. Horse Hack $3.50 

7. Horse Hack per day 

8. Horse Hack 

9. Horse Hack 

10. Horse Hack 

11. Horse Hack 

(School opens at 8:20. Drivers are 9 farmers and 2 high-school boys. 
Hacks are owned by the school.) 

Sargent Consolidated School 
Rio Grande County, Colorado 

Kind of Wage 

Conveyance 

1. Auto Bus 

2. Auto Bus 

3. Auto Bus 

4. Auto Bus Drivers 

5. Auto Bus get 

6. Auto Bus $1.25 

7. Auto Bus per day 

8. Auto Bus 

9. Auto Bus 

10. Auto Bus 

(Drivers are 8 teachers and 2 high-school boys. School owns and 
operates auto busses, has garage on school grounds and pays an auto 
mechanic $150.00 per month to keep busses in good running con- 
dition.) 

Maiden Consolidated School 
Kanawha County, West Virginia 



Miles Bus 


Children 


Time 


Travels 






13 






15 






14 




No child 


17 


Average 


enters bus 


19 


number 


before 7:55 


20 


per 


School 


22 


bus, 34 


opens at 


15 




9:15 


12 






13 







Kind of 


Wage 


Length 




Time of 


Conveyance 




of 
route 


Children 


Starting 
each route 


Auto Bus 


. $3.75 


4 miles 


35 


7:45 




per day 


3 miles 


30 


8:00 






2 miles 


20 


8:20 






7 miles 


35 


8:45 






2 miles 


21 


9:10 



(One auto bus makes all five routes. Students begin their study and 
work as they arrive, and leave at night in the same way. School 
owns bus and pays all operating expenses.) 

East Chain Consolidated School 
Martin County, Minnesota 



Kind of Wage 

Conveyance per day 

Horse Hack $4.50 



Length 
of route 

5 miles 
4 miles 
4J^ miles 
43^ miles 
4^ miles 
3 miles 
53^ miles 
43^ miles 

6 miles 



Children 



Time 



Average First child is 

23 picked up by 

children horse hack at 

to the 7:15, by motor 

route bus at 8:15 



Auto Bus 4.50 

Auto Bus 4.50 

Auto Bus 5.00 

Auto Bus 5.00 

Horse Hack 2.25 

Horse Hack 5.00 

Horse Hack 4.50 

Auto Bus 5.65 

(School owns and operates all conveyances. Five high-school boys and 
four farmers drive.) 

31 



Waynetown, Indiana 



Kind of 
Conveyance 

Auto Bus 

Horse Hack. .. 
Horse Hack... 
Horse Hack__. 

Auto Bus 

Horse Hack_._ 
7. Horse Hack... 
S. Horse Hack__- 
9. Horse Hack__. 

10. Horse Hack... 

11. Horse Hack... 



Driver's wage 
per day 

$5.00 
3.50 
3.50 
3.50 
4.00 
3.50 
3.50 
3.50 
3.50 
3.50 
2.50 



Length 
of route 

7V 2 m 



Children 



43^ mi 
8Mmi 

7 

sy 2 mi 

5 
6 
6 

6 

4J^ mi 

(Five high-school boys and six farmers drive. School opens at 8:30 
Wagons owned by school. Auto busses owned and operated by 
drivers.) 

Jefferson Township School 
New Paris, Ohio 



ties 


. 20 


7:20— 8:00 (Motor) 


les 


19 




lies 


20 




lies 


15 


Some children 


lies 


22 


are picked up 


lies 


19 


by horse hack 


lies 


14 


as early as 


lies 


20 


6:00 and 6:15 


les 


20 




lies 


15 




lies 


7 





Kind of 
Conveyance 



Wage Children 
per per 

day route 



1. Auto Bus $8.00 

2. Wagon 4.00 

3. Wagon 4.00 

4. Wagon 4.00 

5. Wagon 3.50 

6. Wagon 3.50 

7. Wagon 3.50 

8. Wagon 3.50 

9. Wagon 3.50 

10. Wagon 3.50 

11. Wagon .25 

(School owns wagons — 
expenses. School opens 
farmers drive.) 



39 
24 
18 
24 
20 
25 
22 
21 
27 
17 
3 



Length 

of 
route 

6.5 miles 

6 miles 

7 miles 
7.5 miles 
7.5 miles 



miles 
miles 
miles 
miles 
miles 
miles 



Average 

time to 

drive 

45 min. 
60 min. 
75 min. 
90 min. 
75 min. 
90 min. 
60 min. 
60 min. 
60 min. 
75 min. 
15 min. 



Time 
Charac- first 
ter of child gets 
road into bus 



good 
poor 
fair 
fair 
fair 
fair 
fair 
fail- 
fair 
fair 
good 



driver owns auto bus and meets 
at 8:30. Three high-school boys 



7:10 
7:00 
6:45 
6:30 
6:45 
6:50 
7:00 
7:00 
7:00 
6:45 
7:30 
operating 
and eight 



In a number of places the school boards are being "held up" in the matter 
of drivers' wages. When contracts are let on the basis of competitive bidding, 
the bids are often unreasonably high. Nor does this method insure the highest 
quality of drivers. The wide-awake superintendent is the one who goes out 
and finds his own drivers and he usually gets them on fair terms. 

While the horse-drawn wagon is the customary form of conveyance at 
most schools, in nearly every state the motor bus is coming in rapidly. Many 
schools expect to motorize completely within the next year or two. A sentiment 
in favor of motor transportation is becoming quite general. 

Where the law permits it, the school district should own the transportation 
facilities, because it insures the best and most dependable service. There is 
a number of schools where the drivers are hired upon the condition that they 
furnish the horse hack or auto bus and pay for all operating expenses. A large 
enough wage is paid so that the driver can meet these expenses and still make 
a profit. It is felt by those who advocate this plan that the driver will take 
better care of his own property than he would if he were using public property 
and that he will keep expense down. It is also argued that this plan relieves 
the school board or trustees from investing money in wagons or motor busses 
and in case of the latter, they are not troubled with purchasing oil, gasoline, 
tires and repairs, all of which would necessitate their giving considerable 
attention to the question of transportation in order to keep the cost down. 
The ownership of transportation facilities is a matter that each consolidated 
district must decide for itself, since a given set of conditions may make it 
advisable either to have the drivers own the conveyances or to have the 

32 



conveyances owned by the school. There is a tendency, however, throughout 
the country, in schools where the drivers own the conveyances, toward 
changing from the private to public ownership. 

The following are some of the outstanding advantages and arguments for 
public ownership: 

1. Control generally goes with ownership. Sometimes the superintend- 
ent must lengthen or change routes. Driver-owners of busses are 
not always willing to meet these adjustments. 

2. It is sometimes very difficult to find the right kind of a driver 
to invest his money in a bus. If the school owns the bus it is much 
easier to get a good driver. 

3. An incompetent driver who owns his bus cannot easily be dismissed 
because a successor cannot always be found who would be willing to 
invest his money in such an undertaking. 

4. School ownership usually means better and more comfortable busses 
since making money is not the school's object. 

5. If properly managed the cost of transportation is generally cheaper 
under school ownership. 

6. The number of instances of breakdowns and delays is fewer under 
school ownership. The busses are usually kept in better repair and 
can be frequently and uniformly inspected. 

7. Drivers can be secured more cheaply under school ownership. In 
the Sargent School in Colorado eight teachers and two high-school 
boys drive the ten auto busses and receive a monthly salary of 
$25.00 each. This would not be possible under private ownership. 

GOOD ROADS 

Good roads and good consolidated schools go hand in hand — one is the 
inevitable complement of the other. In White River Township in Randolph 
County, Indiana, the roads of the entire township are improved, making 
transportation comparatively easy and rapid. And in this township the one- 
teacher school has been completely supplanted by the consolidated school. 

• Consolidated High and Grade —Abandoned One Room 

Q Grade f- Active One Room 



f — n~~ 

a ■ * 









» ■ 



r*v, , 

■ I 

+ •- 



3 Jh 4 i 



, RANDOLPH ;&ptmJ-Y , 



i 
4- ■ 




Randolph County. Indiana, showing progress of consolidation 

33 




■A * 



y s= ^ y ^> ^ >j q ^ 
IN }y S b £ 



34 




However, consolidation should not wait for better roads, but should forge 
ahead. The fact that public transportation in consolidated school districts 
has been established all over the country regardless of road conditions is the 
best evidence that it is feasible. In spite of the fact that many roads have 
been bad and at times impassable, it can hardly be said that they form any 
greater obstacle to school consolidation and transportation than they do to 
local, social and business communication; in fact, consolidation will assist in 
directing public attention to the needs of permanent road improvement. All 
over Indiana, Minnesota and North Dakota where, due to severe winters and 

35 



the kind of soil, road conditions are not always of the best, transportation is 
universally giving satisfaction. At Brewster, Minnesota, where they have two 
auto busses and four horse hacks, there has been no failure this year of a bus 
to arrive. Last year there were, in all, ten lates and four days that the roads 
were impassable. But what if an occasional day is missed? Do not the 
children who attend the one-room school have to stay home days and even 
weeks on account of impassable roads? In the spring of the year when the 
thaws come and the roads are broken up for about two weeks, schools can 
arrange, as many do, to have their spring vacation at that time. 

COST OF TRANSPORTATION 

The cost of transportation per child varies somewhat in the different states, 
due largely to differences in climate, density of population, size of consolidated 
areas, labor and road conditions. 

Very few schools know what their transportation is costing them, except 
the amount that is paid in salaries to drivers. This, of course, is only a part 
of the real cost of transportation unless the drivers own all the transportation 
conveyances and meet all operating expense. In fact, very few schools have 
been keeping any systematic account of operating expenses. In addition, so 
many schools have just recently been formed or have just recently adopted 
motor transportation that the transportation arrangements are somewhat 
chaotic and are subject to frequent change. 

In some districts the winter just passed has been very severe and especially 
hard on tires and other equipment, which has led to much experimenting with 
pneumatic and solid tires. There is no question but that the pneumatic tire 
will give the greater comfort to those riding, insure greater traction in traveling 
over muddy roads, and on good roads will give the greater mileage; but many 
country roads are exceedingly poor during certain seasons of the year. In 
the winter time when the ground is frozen, ruts made by smaller tires will 
often play havoc with the larger ones. In such a case, perhaps, the bus with 
good strong springs and solid cushion tires to carry the load would be the most 
satisfactory. Many schools are attempting to carry too big a load with a truck 
of light tonnage. Very few have any idea what mileage they are going to get 
from their tires or trucks or what the replacement of parts, repair work and 
annual overhauling are going to cost. 

There are those that have had to adopt a number of make-shifts during the 
severe winter just passed, such as putting sleds on and shortening some of 
the routes, necessitating the paying for private transportation in some instances 
or requiring the hiring of extra conveyances to tide them over until conditions 
became normal. 

In most cases where horse transportation is used, the school board owns the 
wagons but hires the drivers for a fixed wage and the drivers furnish the horses. 
Such transportation involves four items of expense to the school: 

1. Driver's wage. 

2. Depreciation on the Wagons. 

3. Repairs. 

4. Interest on the amount invested, to be figured at the prevailing rate 
which school bonds bear in each community. 

Insurance would make a fifth item if the school carries it. 

36 



It is very difficult to say how long school wagons will run. This depends 
somewhat on miles covered and the care taken in operating them. Some of 
the older consolidations have been able to use their wagons 12 years, while 
others have been able to get only eight or nine years' use. The better grade of 
school wagons today costs about $400.00. The repairs required from time to 
time are very slight, being chiefly the retiring of the wheels every three or 
four years. In the following estimates depreciation and repairs on school 
wagons are figured at 10 per cent. 

At the Jackson Consolidated School in Randolph County, Indiana, where 
they have an eight-month term, 285 children are transported daily in 12 horse 
hacks. Following the explanation above, the expense per month is as follows: 

Depreciation and repairs on 12 hacks at 10% $ 60.00 

Drivers' wages 724.00 

Interest on investment at 6% per annum ($4800.00) - 36.00 

Total cost per month $820.00 

Total cost per day 41.00 

Cost per day per child (285 transported) .144 

At Sioux Valley, Minnesota, the expense is somewhat greater because of 
the greater wage that drivers receive. There are 143 children transported 
daily in seven horse hacks. The expense per month is as follows: 

Depreciation and repairs on 7 hacks at 10% $ 31.10 

Interest on investment at 6% per annum ($2800.00) 18.65 

Drivers' wages - 630.00 

Total cost per month $679.75 

Total cost per day 33.98 

Cost per child per day (143 transported) .237 

At the Fairview Independent Consolidated School in Iowa, the expense is 
still greater. This school is an example of a consolidation that does not include 
enough territory, the area being only 26 sections. Five high-school boys and 
three farmers drive the wagons, getting salaries ranging from $90.00 to $120.00 
per month. The monthly expense for transportation is: 

Depreciation and repairs on 8 hacks at 10% $ 35.56 

(nine-month term) 

Driver's wages 800.00 

Interest on investment at 6% per annum ($3200.00) 21.30 

Total cost per month $856.86 

Total cost per day 42.84 

Cost per child per day (105 transported) .408 

At the Jackson Township Central School in Preble County, Ohio, there are 
four auto busses and one horse hack transporting 210 students daily. The 
four auto busses are owned by the drivers who meet all operating expenses. 
Two of the auto busses make two trips each, giving the district seven routes 
in all. The monthly cost of transportation is as follows: 

Wages to the four auto-bus drivers $940.00 

Wage to the one horse-hack driver 140.00 

Depreciation and repairs on the horse hack at 10% (nine 

month term) 4.44 

Interest on the investment at 6% per annum ($400.00) 2.65 

Total cost per month $1087.09 

Total cost per day 54.35 

Cost per child per day (210 transported) .259 

Last year there were 12 horse hacks operating in this district. Since one 
of the 12 is still operating, the four auto busses are therefore doing the work 
of 11 horse hacks. If the 12 horse hacks were still being used and each driver 
were getting $100.00 a month, the cost per child per day would be $ .304. 
Auto transportation, it would seem, has brought a saving in cost to this school. 

37 



Wayne Township, Montgomery County, Waynetown, Ind. 



In Waynetown, Indiana, two busses are operating in the consolidated 
district in conjunction with nine horse hacks. The auto bus drivers own and 
operate their busses, receiving from the school $4.00 and $5.00 a day respectively. 
They bring 42 children a day, resulting therefore in a cost of $ .214 per child 
per day. The nine horse-hack drivers get a total of $30.50 a day for driving 
and furnishing teams. The daily depreciation and interest on the $3600.00 
invested by the township in the hacks is $3.60. The cost per day for each 
of the 149 children who ride in the horse-drawn vehicles is $ .229. 

In Preble County, Ohio, the general policy of having the drivers own and 
operate the motor busses has also been followed; while the school authorities 
own the horse hacks, but hire the drivers with their teams. The depreciation 
and interest on the horse hacks in this county amounts to $ .02 per child per day. 

Data on Transportation in Preble County, Ohio. 

Total number of consolidated schools 12 

Total number transported 1942 

Total number transported by motor 725 

Total number transported by horse 12,17 

Total number of motor busses 20 

Total number of horse hacks 60 

Total number of routes by motor busses 28 

Total number of routes by horse hacks 60 

Number of children transported by bus per route 25.9 

Number of children transported by hack per route 20.3 

Average monthly salary to motor bus drivers $136.95 

Average monthly salary to horse hack drivers 75.40 

Average daily salary to motor bus drivers 6.84 

Average daily salary to horse hack drivers 3.77 

Cost per child per day (motor bus) .264 

Cost per child per day (horse hack) .205 

Average length of bus routes from where first child enters. 7. 14 miles 
Average length of horse hack routes from where first child 

enters 5.74 miles 

Average time to drive the motor bus route 39.4 min. 

Average time to drive the horse hack route 72.7 min. 

Cost per mile per route per child, one way (motor) $ .037 

Cost per mile per route per child, one way (hack) .036 

38 



Average time to travel a mile per motor bus, including 

stops 5.5 min. 

Average time to travel a mile per horse hack, including 

stops 12.6 min. 

Average miles per hour, including stops, per motor bus _10.9 miles 

Average miles per hour, including stops, per horse hack . 4.7 miles 



Condition of roads traveled by 85 transportation routes in the county 

Bad Poor Rough Hilly Fair Good 

Motor Bus Routes (26)__. 

Horse Hack Routes (59) 

Total (85) . _ - 



3 


1 


1 


1 


12 


8 


6 


5 


1 


3 


27 


17 


9 


6 


2 


4 


39 


25 







Transportation Busses at Linden, Ind. 



At Linden, Indiana, there are four auto busses and one automobile 
operating in a consolidated area of 30 square miles with an average route 
length of six miles. The school owns the bodies on the four trucks, entailing 
a cost of $200.00 apiece. The drivers own the chassis and meet the expense 
of operation. 

Total salaries per month $495.00 

Depreciation on the four truck bodies at 10% 10.00 

Interest on investment at 6% ($800.00) 6.00 

Total cost per month 511.00 

Total cost per day 25.55 

Cost per child per day (90 transported) .284 

What is the cost of operation to the drivers? The following is only an 
estimate of what it may be costing the drivers: 

Depreciation per month on conveyances owned by the five 

drivers ($2980.00) $ 74.50 

Interest on the $2980.00 at 6% per annum 22.35 

Storage 25.00 

Gas (200 gals, per month at $ .30) 60.00 

Oil 6.00 

Tires (total of 2400 miles per month) 64.15 

Replace of parts and annual overhaul 78.00 

Total cost of operation (not including salaries for driving) $330.00 

39 



Since they are receiving this year from the school $495.00 per month, the 
amount received alone for driving, then, is $165.00 or $33.00 per driver per 
month. It is very evident that the school is getting its transportation handled 
very reasonably. One of the drivers is a drayman in the city of Linden, so only 
a small portion of his time is spent each day for the transporting of children to 
and from school. The other four drivers are farmers. This is the first year 
that motor busses have been used at the Linden School; so, no doubt, readjust- 
ments will be necessary after they get more experience in transportation 
problems. 

In Colorado motor transportation is used almost entirely, due especially 
to the fact that the consolidations are larger and horse transportation is not 
feasible. In contrast to the policy in the foregoing instances that have been 
cited, the Colorado schools own and operate their conveyances, paying the 
drivers a wage for driving only. 

At the Sargent School in Rio Grande County, ten busses are used, repre- 
senting an investment of about $20,000.00. Eight of the drivers are teachers 




Combination Gatage and Gymnasium at Sargent School, Colo. 
{Courtesy The Nebraska Farmer) 



of the school and two are high-school boys. The school has its own garage on 
the school grounds but it represents an expense for transportation, so an item 
of $5.00 per bus per month is included in the estimate below: 

Salaries to drivers per month . $250.00 

Salary to mechanic 150.00 

Garage 50.00 

Depreciation on busses at 20% .' 444.40 

Interest on investment at 6 % per annum 133.30 

Gas (640 gals, at $ .30) 192.00 

Oil (16 gals, at $1.00) 16.00 

Tires (6400 miles per month) 291.94 

Replacement of parts 100.00 

Total cost per month $1627.64 

Total cost per day 81.38 

Cost per child per day (390 transported) .208 

Cost per mile per route per child .0065 

Cost per bus per day 8.138 

Cost per mile per bus .254 

40 



At the Consolidated School in Center, Colorado, six auto busses, representing 
an investment of $11,350.00 are operating in an area of 153 square miles. The 
monthly expense estimate is as follows: 

Salaries to drivers per month $300.00 

Depreciation on busses at 20 r , . 252.20 

Storage 30.00 

Gas (432 gals, at $ .30) 129.60 

Oil (12 gals, at $1.00) . 12.00 

Interest on investment at 6% per annum 75.60 

Tires ._____. 208.53 

Replacement of parts and annual overhauling _ 102.00 

Total cost per montli _ $1109.93 

Total cost per day 55.496 

Cost per child per day (184 transported) _ .301 

Cost per mile per route per child .0083 

Cost per bus per day 9.25 

Cost per mile per bus .254 

At the Monte Vista Consolidated School 180 children are transported daily 
in eight auto busses, representing an investment of $20,100.00. The monthly 
estimate is as follows: 




afcpwf^^HC. 1 '^Mtyw** 



The New Junior High School Building at Monte Vista, Colo. 




The Children of this School are Transported in Eight Auto Busses 

41 



Salaries to drivers per month $320.00 

Storage. _ 60.00 

Depreciation on busses at 20% 446.60 

Interest on investment at 6 % per annum 134.00 

Gas 173.68 

Oil 17.44 

Tires (4709 miles per month) 200.66 

Replacement of parts L 80.00 

Salary to mechanic . 100.00 

Total cost per month $1532.38 

Total cost per day 76.62 

Cost per child per day (180 transported) .426 

In Indiana, at the McKinley School in Randolph County, there are five 
auto busses owned by the township, representing an investment of $7,236.00. 
Each of these trucks makes two trips and all five transport 268 children 
daily. In addition 25 children are brought in by three ordinary autos and a 
private rig, all four of which are owned and operated by the drivers. The 
monthly estimate on the cost of transportation is as follows: 

Depreciation on five auto busses owned by the township $180.90 

Interest on the investment at 6% per annum 54.27 

Salaries to drivers of the five auto busses 300.00 

Salaries to drivers of the private conveyances 170.00 

Gas (450 gals, at $ .27) 121.50 

Oil 10.50 

Tires (6100 miles) 165.90 

Storage 25.00 

Replacement of parts and annual overhauling 78. 10 

Total cost per month $1106.17 

Total cost per day 55.31 

Cost per child per day (293 transported) .188 

Total cost per month for the five auto busses owned 

by the township 936.17 

Total cost per day (five auto busses) 46.81 

Cost per child per day (268 transported) .174 

Suggestions to Reduce Costs 

There is a great deal to be hoped for in the near future with regard to the 
working out of several phases of the motor transportation question, such as 
putting the motor bus to the greatest economic use, selecting competent drivers 
on satisfactory terms and choosing between school or driver ownership of 
transportation facilities. 

The auto bus should be put to the greatest use in order to secure the most 
economic results. Many busses are standing idle too much of the time. In 
many instances they should be given longer routes. In some cases a long and 
a short route to each bus would make for greater efficiency. If the auto busses 
could be used during the day for other hauling, while the children are in 
school, the daily earnings of the bus and the driver might be increased. 
Many drivers who own their busses have truck bodies and can use them 
Saturdays and during vacation periods for general trucking business. 

To drive an auto bus for the transporting of children to and from school 
ought not to take more than three hours a day of any driver's time and no 
driver should look upon a driving job as a full day's work and expect to get 
remuneration upon that basis. Drivers should be selected with this idea in 
mind. Of course, the competence of the driver and the quality of the service 
should not be lost sight of in the attempt to get the driving done cheaply. 

42 



In Colorado it is the general policy to select people for driving the auto 
busses who have other occupations, but are free at the time when the children 
have to be transported. Drivers, such as teachers, high-school boys, bank 
clerks, and retired farmers have all proved very satisfactory and are usually 
secured for a reasonable wage. 

In Minnesota transportation may cost a little more than in some of the other 
states because, as a general rule, boys are not allowed to drive and children 
are not to be hauled farther than the actual distance from their homes to the 
school building. The latter rule will not make possible capacity loads in every 
case. The state inspector of rural schools estimates that the horse-drawn 
transportation in Minnesota this year, in most of the districts, will cost $ .045 
per child mile, one way. A child, then, living six miles from school would 
entail a cost of 54 cents per day while one living only two miles would cost 
18 cents per day. 

A number of the consolidated districts have up-to-date garages with complete 
equipment. At the Sargent School in Colorado they have hired a mechanic 
for $150.00 a month, who not only keeps the busses in repair and excellent 
running order, but teaches the high-school boys automobile mechanics and 
blacksmithing as well. The superintendent of this school buys practically all 
of his materials, such as gas, oil, tires and repair parts at wholesale and in this 
way is effecting a very appreciable saving in cost. 

While estimating the depreciation on the auto busses in the preceding 
tables at 20 per cent, much depends upon the type of truck used and the miles 
covered: The majority of busses, however, will probably give 50,000 to 100,000 
miles under normal transportation conditions. The average school auto bus 
will very likely last over five years but it is better to overestimate the cost 
than to underestimate it. However, it will probably not give the mileage that 
busses in other service will since it is used only a small portion of the day and 
is stored away three months in the summer time. Until a school has worn 
out one or two trucks it will probably be advisable not to speculate on more 
than five years' use. 

It is impossible, of course, to recommend any definite truck tonnage or 
standard of equipment, due to the varying conditions throughout the country. 
As those who have been close to the transportation question are coming to have 
more experience in these matters, they seem to favor the trucks of 1}4 ton 
capacity. The lighter weight trucks, carrying 30 or 35 children, are not giving 
satisfaction. They are all right for short hauls and light loads. The size of 
the consolidation will determine to a very great extent the choice of truck 
tonnage. Preference is also being shown for the pneumatic tires of truck size. 

With regard to comparison of cost of motor transportation with that of 
horse transportation in the hauling of children to and from school, too much 
credence should not be placed in any of the current statements that are being 
made one way or the other. From the foregoing estimates on the costs of 
transportation in a number of the different consolidated schools, it would seem 
that some of them have effected a saving by adopting motor transportation, 
while others have not. It may not be possible to show that motor transporta- 
tion is cheaper than horse transportation in every instance, but there are many 
other merits that motor transportation has with which it is rapidly winning 
favor throughout the country. 

43 



In conclusion it should be pointed out that every school or owner of a school 
auto bus should keep a cost system. Some of the school officials may think 
it unnecessary to keep an account of the costs since the transportation is public 
and is paid for from the tax that is levied upon the property of those in the 
district. This attitude has no ground for commendation. The following are 
a few of the reasons why cost records are necessary: 

Cost records are useful in detecting elements of waste and in suggesting 
future economies. Many schools are employing extravagant methods which 
cost records would soon disclose. How can an operator tell accurately which 
of two grades of gas is giving him the greater mileage unless he can check it 
in a systematic way? Excessive idle time on the part of drivers as well as 
carelessness can also be shown by costs. 

The taxpayer has a right to know what the transportation is costing and 
how the motor transportation is comparing with the cost of transportation 
by teams. Much of the opposition to consolidation is based on the assumption 
that it will bring a higher tax and that the transportation will be too costly. 
It can be shown that this opposition is not justified in the majority of cases if 
cost records are kept. 

One of the most important reasons for keeping cost records is that it tells 
one how the busses, tires and other equipment are performing. A certain 
size of tire may be entirely inadequate, and yet it might not be detected and the 
greater cost obviated without records. 

Finally, great assistance can be given the school authorities and the legis- 
lature when it comes to the laying down of rules and regulations with regard 
to school transportation. Also, districts that are contemplating the consoli- 
dation are anxious to learn about this phase of the subject. In many cases 
they can be shown that the cost of transportation does not make consolidation 
prohibitive. The whole consolidation movement will be aided greatly by the 
proper keeping of cost records.* 




Good Roads make this possible 

In the following table are presented some facts about 40 schools in eight 
states. This table gives the latest available data on the comparative cost of 
transportation in the different schools and states. These figures give what it 
is costing the schools, whether they own the transportation facilities or not: 

*Copies of bulletin No. 5, "Relation of Costs to Motor Truck Transportation," can be secured by 
writing The Firestone Ship by Truck Bureau, Firestone Park, Akron, Ohio. 

44 



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46 



ADVANTAGES OF MOTOR TRANSPORTATION 

Motor transportation is rapidly coming to be the established method of 
transporting children to consolidated rural schools. Because of the recency of 
its adoption throughout the country — many schools having it this year for 
the first time — there is still much that can be done to make motor transpor- 
tation more efficient. Schools must learn through experience how best to man- 
age motor transportation in order to get the fullest results claimed for it. 

The school officials of the country are practically unanimous in the belief 
that motor transportation for the consolidated school is going to displace all 
other methods within a very short time. Parents are beginning to demand it 
for their children and many school officials are saying that they will invest 
no more money in horse-drawn vehicles. 

The advantages of motor transportation over the horse transportation are 
quite generally known and accepted. Some of the most outstanding advantages 
are: 

1. There is a great saving in time. Children do not leave home so 
early in the morning nor return so late at night. In schools where 
horse-drawn vehicles are used, children often have to leave home as 
early as 6:00 A.M. and reach home at a correspondingly late hour. 

2. More territory can be covered and longer routes can be established, 
making the larger and more desirable consolidation possible. 
Horse-hack routes are limited to five or six miles. 

3. Fewer busses are required. The trustee of White River Township 
in Randolph County, Indiana, says, "One motor bus does the work 
of three horse hacks." 

4. Children do not come to school worn out in the morning by one or 
two hours' travel on the road, as is the case with horse transportation. 
The motor bus can make 12 miles per hour, including stops. 

5. While the initial cost of an auto bus greatly exceeds that of a horse- 
drawn vehicle, its operating expense usually is less if efficiently 
managed. 

6. Children are not subjected to the "elements of the weather in winter 
to any appreciable extent. They are not on the road so long, and 
heating the auto bus by the exhaust from the engine has proved 
very practicable. 

7. The service is much better in that the motor bus affords the maxi- 
mum of comfort. 

8. Children like to ride to school in the auto bus. They are more 
contented and in a better mental condition upon arrival at school. 

9. Motor transportation is more economic in that drivers can more 
easily follow some other occupation. Little time is spent in driving 
the auto bus, while horse-hack drivers feel that driving in itself is a 
day's work and charge accordingly. 

10. A nine-month school term can more easily be maintained. Farmers 
do not like to drive or furnish horses except during the months from 
October to March, inclusive, when farm work is slack. 

11. It is easier to get drivers since the owning of a team is no longer 
a prerequisite. 

12. Salaries paid for driving are less. The work is more desirable and 
usually attracts a better type of men. Horse-hack drivers frequently 
"hold up" schools in the matter of salaries. 

13. Daily attendance is more regular. 

14. Children do not have to walk so far to meet the school bus because, 
with few exceptions, it is practicable to have the bus pass every 
farmhouse. 

47 




These children arrive at school dry and warm, ready to begin the day's work 



CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMARIZATION 

From the extended investigations on which this bulletin is based, the 
following conclusions are drawn: 

Every state should provide state aid for consolidated schools. This will' 
give a greater equalization of taxes as well as educational opportunities. 

The consolidated school should be very decidedly a rural school and should 
be built in the open country or on the edge of the village. 

Every village or small town located in a farming section of the country 
ought to consolidate with the surrounding territory within a radius of four or 
five miles. By joining their efforts, both the village and farming community 
can have a better school with the same expenditure of funds. The course of 
study can be planned to meet the needs of both village and country, care being- 
taken not to educate away from the farm. 

Many consolidated school buildings are too small. The consolidated school 
grows rapidly, so the buildings should be made larger than conditions at first 
would seem to require. 

The consolidated area should be made large enough so that the school tax 
will not be excessive. The larger consolidation, ranging from 40 to 60 square 
miles, is proving to be the more satisfactory. 

The school should embrace a complete four-year high-school course. Every 
country boy and girl should be given a high-school education within easy 
reach of their homes. 

Consolidated schools are built for something more than mere school buildings. 
They should become, in every sense of the term, community centers. The 
farmers of the consolidated district should be made to feel that the school 
building is theirs for any purpose they wish to use it. 

48 




Orange Township School, near Waterloo, Iowa 

It seems quite essential that a law should be passed in each state, similar 
to that existing in Nebraska, which provides for the mapping out of the whole 
state into consolidated districts. 

Consolidation is helping very appreciably to solve the present day teacher 
shortage in that fewer teachers are required than with the one-room system. 
It is easier to attract good teachers to a consolidated school. 

The community should recognize the value of the teacher as a factor in 
permanent community life by erecting modern homes for both teachers and 
superintendent on or near the school campus. 

There is a great need at the present time for the right kind of men as com- 
munity leaders to become principals and superintendents of the consolidated 
schools. Provision should be made at our normal schools and colleges for the 
training of these leaders. The leaders of the future are undoubtedly the boys 
and girls who are being trained in the consolidated schools of today. 

Too many districts at the time of consolidating do not vote enough bonds. 
This places them under a permanent handicap. 




Superintendent's home at Orange Township School. Waterloo .Iowa 

49 



The most satisfactory type of consolidated school is planned to give the 
rural community just the kind of education required by an agricultural popula- 
tion. It should not be so practical, however, that it loses all that is cultural, 
but should fit the boys and girls for a happy and remunerative life in the 
country. 

Those contemplating consolidation should study the experience of other 
consolidated districts. 

The state laws on consolidation should be so revised as to permit districts 
voting on consolidation to count the votes as a whole, a majority of all deciding 
the issue. One small district should not be allowed to defeat consolidation. 

Rigid rules should be laid down relating to transportation. This problem 
should have the constant direction of a competent and wide-awake superin- 
tendent. 

Transportation should be furnished by public conveyance and all children 
should be hauled in busses owned by the district. 

No child should be made to ride in a bus over an hour. 

Districts should be rerouted as changes occur in the number and location 
of children. Many miles of hauling are saved by a careful study of routing. 

Drivers should be required to sign a contract and to give a bond. Contracts 
should not be let solely on a basis of competitive bidding. This method does 
not insure the best results. Character and quality of service are also impor- 
tant factors. 

It is a good policy to insure the school and the drivers against all possible 
accidents, securing protection not only against losses to the trucks, but pro- 
tecting against damage to life as well. Many responsible companies can be 
found that insure for a reasonable yearly premium. Schools, thus far, have not 
deemed insurance necessary, but when it is realized that one bad accident might 
result in lengthy litigation and cost the school board a large sum of money, 
insuring seems advisable. 

At the time of consolidating a number of one-room schools, provision should 
be made for the raising of sufficient money to purchase all transportation 
equipment. Increase the bond issue, if necessary, so that the entire initial 
cost can be met. 

There are many reasons why a large part of the cost of transporting 
children to and from school should be assumed by the Federal or State Govern- 
ment, if not by both. Since farmers must live at a distance from good schools 
in order to pursue the occupation of agriculture, the State and Federal Govern- 
ments should provide the same educational advantages for rural children that 
city children get, at least to the extent of giving them free transportation to 
and from the consolidated schools. 

In the United States approximately 2,000,000 children, living in 65,000 
old rural school districts scattered in communities from Maine to California 
and from Minnesota to the Gulf, are now transported successfully to 13,000 
consolidated schools. 

Many of the problems and difficulties of transportation are now being 
solved by the motor bus. No longer must routes be limited to six miles, nor 
are children required to ride as much as two hours to reach school as is fre- 
quently the case when horse-drawn vehicles are used. The motor bus will 
permit the formation of larger districts and larger districts should mean more 
and better consolidated schools. These in turn should make for better rural 
communities and a better rural citizenry. 

50 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The greater part of the literature on the consolidated school is to be found 
chiefly in the form of bulletins, pamphlets, and reports from the United States 
Bureau of Education at Washington and the State Departments of Education. 
A few of the best books that have appeared recently, and some of the bulletins 
and pamphlets, are listed for reference. 

Alabama. Department of Education. Consolidation of Schools and 

Transportation of pupils. Montgomery, Brown Printing 

Company (1917) 80 p. illus. (Bulletin No. 56.) 
Arp, Julius Bernhard. Rural Education and the Consolidated 

School. Yonkers-on-Hudson, N. Y., World Book Company. 

(1918) 212 p. illus. (School efficiency monographs.) 
Betts, George Herbert. The Consolidation of Rural Schools. In 

his "New Ideals in Rural Schools." Boston, New York (etc.), 

Houghton Mifflin Company (1913) p. 35-43. 
& Hall. Otis E. Consolidation and Rural School Efficiency. 

In their "Better Rural Schools." Indianapolis, The Bobbs- 

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Company (1912) p. 148-87. 
Challman, S. A. What Consolidation of rural schools means to the 

children and to the people of the country in equipment, including 

buildings, playgrounds, apparatus, and demonstration farm. 

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The Rural School Plant. The Bruce Publishing Company, 

(1917). 

Crawford, R. P. Nebraska Farmer, Lincoln, Nebraska. Series of 

articles describing consolidated schools in Minnesota, North 

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Cubberley, Ellwood P. Consolidation of Central Schools. In his 

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Consolidation of schools. In "A Cyclopedia of Education" 

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51 



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52 



Program of the Firestone 
Ship by Truck Bureau 

To study the problems relating to the entrance on a 
sound business basis of the motor truck into our 
national commercial and economic life — 

To promote the use of the motor truck where it is 
economically feasible, — 

To analyze efficient cost, operating and business 
methods with a view to advocating their more 
general adoption — 

To plan cooperation with other forms or agencies of 
transportation so that our country may have a 
complete, efficient and economical scheme of trans- 
portation — 

To promote the construction and maintenance of 
roads, adequate for the proper use of the motor 
truck and the legitimate expansion of its service — 

To encourage uniform and suitable legislation relating 
to the use of motor trucks, trailers and the high- 
ways — 

To cooperate, when advisable, with other agencies 
having all of these policies or any one of them as 
their object — 



Bulletins issued by the Firestone Ship by Truck 
Bureau, copies of which may be obtained without 
cost by addressing the Bureau at its headquarters in 
Firestone Park, Akron, Ohio: 

Bulletin No. 1 — Ship by Truck Among Farmers 
Through Cooperative Associations. 

Bulletin No. 2 — How and Where to Establish 
Truck Routes. 

Bulletin No. 
Mines. 

Bulletin No. 
Truck. 

Bulletin No. 



3 — The Motor Truck at the Coal 



The Farmer and the Motor 



5 — Costs and Their Relation to 



Truck Transportation. 



i 






! 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 302 968 Q 




The Sign of Good Trucking Service: 

Manufacture — Operation — 

Maintenance 



